ICC receives BCCI report on Kotla

The International Cricket Council said it has received the report on the December 27 pitch fiasco in Delhi from the BCCI on Monday. It is now up to ICC General Manager Dav Richardson and Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle to take a call on the issue.

The governing body said Richardson and Madugalle "will now consider all the evidence, including studying video footage of the match, before reaching their decision in due course."

"The ICC will make no further comments until Mr Richardson and Mr Madugalle have reached their decision," ICC said in a statement.

On December 27, the fifth and last ODI between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned after 23.3 overs with the on-field umpires finding the pitch too dangerous to continue playing on.

In accordance with the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which came into effect from October 1, 2009, Match Referee Alan Hurst submitted a report to the ICC expressing his concerns over the quality of the pitch.

Under clause 3.3 of the regulations governing the process, the ICC provided the BCCI with a copy of Hurst's report and requested the BCCI to respond. The BCCI has now provided a reply to the ICC's request.

Even though Hurst rated the Ferozeshah Kotla track as "unfit", which is the harshest assessment, the BCCI is trying to establish that it was a merely a "poor" pitch.

If the pitch is deemed "unfit", it would mean a 1-2 year international ban for the Kotla while the venue can get away with a USD 15,000 fine if the assessment is that of a "poor" pitch.

Delhi and District Cricket Association president Arun Jaitley and BCCI president Shashank Manohar, both legal experts, were present when the board's response was drafted in Mumbai.

Incidentally, ICC president David Morgan has gone on record saying he would not favour an international ban on Kotla because the 2011 World Cup -- scheduled in the sub-continent -- would be "poorer" without Delhi.

"I am not at all sure that such a ban would be appropriate in this case. It's not our desire that a pitch in an important city like New Delhi should be banned for a lengthy period.

"The (2011) World Cup would be poor without matches being hosted in New Delhi," the ICC chief had said.